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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27579044">Lost Letters in a Garden</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_haunted_sock/pseuds/a_haunted_sock'>a_haunted_sock</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Voltron: Legendary Defender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, allurance is only background, and will not last, as inspiration strikes me bc i'm a flighty hack, going off what might be in ogs8, lotura will be in there too probably, no one talks about pidge's feelings in all this and i need to fix that, s8 angst, this is strictly plance lolol, this will also be more like little vignettes of missing plance scenes</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 04:00:12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,666</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27579044</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_haunted_sock/pseuds/a_haunted_sock</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s...over, she thought. Not that it had ever really begun. She squandered her time and waited too long to tell him how she felt, she realized with a dreadful sinking feeling that took her whole body under.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It makes sense, Pidge told herself. You’ve known that this was a long time coming, ever since Allura started looking at Lance differently, out on the tarmac that day...</p>
<p>A collection of vignettes, highlighting canon would've-been plance</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Allura/Lance (background), Lance/Pidge | Katie Holt</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>29</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Lost Letters in a Garden</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>She was fine. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>to be fine. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>There was no shift in the room and the expectant faces of her friends were not warped, but Katie Holt felt her equilibrium subtly change. The words that came out of her mouth to Allura and Romelle sounded like she was on autopilot, deterred only by her mother’s mocking laugh and subsequent disparage of her lack of fashion. It was only once the two Alteans left, however, and the small girl got back to her work that Katie let the thoughts that had been hovering over her head settle and stew inside her mind. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span> It’s...over</span>
  </em>
  <span>, she thought. Not that it had ever really begun. She squandered her time and waited too long to tell him how she felt, she realized with a dreadful sinking feeling that took her whole body under.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>It makes sense, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Pidge told herself. </span>
  <em>
    <span>You’ve known that this was a long time coming, ever since Allura started looking at Lance differently, out on the tarmac that day.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Although it had not gone at all like she would’ve wanted, Pidge could honestly say that she felt whole, finally at home again on their planet, now that the threat of Sendak was gone. She had her family back, against the odds. As a part of team Voltron, she was useful and needed. It had been her quick mind and sharp reflexes that had saved her team and the known galaxy from destruction several times and she was </span>
  <em>
    <span>lauded</span>
  </em>
  <span> for it. She had, almost single-handedly, managed to recover her brother’s whereabouts after he was rescued from a Galran prison and, by the most potent luck in the universe, had her father returned to her unscathed (other than his chronic malnourishment). Reflecting, Kate realized how it wasn’t just her brilliant mind that had saved her family but also the most fortunate of circumstances, considering how her friends had not been so lucky. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Allura especially.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>In a fit of self-deprecation, Katie’s realization came barreling into her body like a train with Romelle’s words gleefully belted out in the hydroponics room: “She has a date! With pointy chin!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Returning to Earth had somehow evened out the playing field for all of them and what had made Katie feel so proud and invincible in space could not fix nor change the circumstances here. Lance had finally made a move on the princess and she had reciprocated. Pidge, of all people, was aware of how desperately Lance had wanted this. He had wandered into her lab (with or without Hunk present) many times to sulk over the lack of romantic attraction Allura seemed to have for him. </span>
  <em>
    <span>What can I do that I haven’t tried yet? </span>
  </em>
  <span>He often asked, throwing his hands up in frustration. Talking out loud about his shortcomings in, his words, winning the game of love was always conducted in the vicinity of someone else, sentient or not. The amount of times he had done this had blurred so severely that it was the only memory she could bring up now.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Out in the void of space, matters were so pressing that Pidge had always dealt with them promptly. Yet found, in their down time, that building her friendships with the six other people she was alone with had come about fairly naturally. However, when it came to connecting with Lance, in particular, on a deeper level...well, she had always strangely procrastinated. It was not like her at all and she hated herself for it. She coveted the hard won friendship they had cultivated, but underneath its shady leaves, another tiny germ had broken through the soil quietly, undetected by her until only a few months ago. Its name she dared not say, for it was only a new burden for her to carry if she did, especially now that Lance obviously didn’t feel the same. Perhaps she hadn’t noticed it sooner because the burden of finding her lost family had pressed on her heart too much. But it remained there, small and still fragile but determined to grow. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Nevertheless, when she had become aware of these new feelings, she took stock of the playing field, as was her nature. She had smiled, then, because Lotor had completely and irrevocably wooed the princess over their mutual desires in the pursuit of unlocking Altean alchemy’s secrets. It seemed that the pursuit of Allura was well and truly over for Lance. She’d have time to pull herself together and water that growing plant. She remembered one time, while Lotor was a guest on the Castle, Lance had come to sulk to her, whether she was listening or not.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“I know he’s a good looking space prince and all, but what could they possibly have to talk about all day!? I haven’t seen Allura since breakfast!” Lance moaned as he slid further down into the chair across from the desks Pidge had set up for her computer banks. Soft music from Pidge’s phone echoed throughout the Green Lion’s hangar while she worked, but now she realized it was probably best to turn it off and give her full attention to Lance, something that was becoming easier to do with each passing day. She gave him a look over her shoulder before going back to her typing.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“What do you mean? You know that Allura has wanted to unlock Oriande’s secrets for a long time, ever since that fight with Haggar. Lotor’s the first one we’ve met that has also been researching it. Don’t you think it makes sense that they would want to spend all their time together?” Pidge replied. Lance rolled his eyes; this was clearly not the answer he had wanted.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Well, yeah, but that Altean witch doctoring isn’t going to help us bring peace to the universe! And I still don’t feel right about Lotor’s mech needing quintessence to run. There’s still something fishy going on that he’s not telling us!” </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Pidge pursed her lips and rolled her chair away from the desk to face her friend. She honestly couldn’t stand it when Lance came to whine over the same old story to her. Everyone on the Castle was aware of Lance’s pining for the princess and Allura’s subsequent disinterest in the matter and all of them desperately wished he would accept that. Thinking over her words carefully, Pidge finally responded.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“You know Lance, maybe you just don’t like Lotor because he and Allura have a lot of interests that they connect on? You didn’t have to be a space prince to get her to like you, all you had to do was show some interest in what she likes and wants. Think about it, has she ever been into your flirting? No girl wants someone that’s only thinking of themselves! You just sit there feeling sorry for yourself and it sets my teeth on edge!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Okay, so her carefully chosen words had flown out the window with that. Grimacing, she realized how dark Lance’s eyes had gotten. As she was about to open her mouth to apologize, he beat her to the punch.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Oh, yeah? Is that all I have to do, O wise love guru!? What do you know? All you do is sit in here all day and shut the rest of us out, like we aren’t worth your time! You’ve never been in love so you don’t get to tell me what I’m doing wrong!” </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>With that, Lance stormed out of the hangar, leaving a deafening silence ringing in Pidge’s ears along with the hurt he had stabbed into her chest. As obnoxious as it was, Katie knew she had to be more sensitive to Lance's feelings. Every time he had opened up to her, she had come back at him with cynicism, which she realized now was a bad habit in need of breaking. She couldn’t afford to do that with the people she loved most dearly.  </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Some more than others, </span>
  <em>
    <span>a little voice that was so terribly right whispered. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>You know, </span>
  <em>
    <span>it continued, </span>
  </em>
  <span>he used to come in here and just watch you so intently. He doesn’t seem the type, really, to be interested in a short tomboy that tinkers with alien tech all day. </span>
  <em>
    <span>But Pidge squashed that thought down before it could take root. Lance was incredibly intelligent and had the sharpest instincts she had ever seen. Just because tech was not his forte did not mean he couldn’t at least be interested in it. It meant nothing that she just happened to be their resident techie. Her heart thumps, recalling happier times when he’d engage her with questions about projects she would take for granted, his interest in her work making sparks go off in her chest, a delightful and alien feeling. With a deep breath in and out, she turned back to her work. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>~~~</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Yet it was still a constant reminder digging at her mind she couldn’t ignore: all that praise he gave her. No one outside of her family had ever been interested in what she had to say or what she could make. It was surprising and thrilling the first few times he did it. Then he kept doing it, as if showering her with awe-struck endearments came second nature, and somewhere along the way, it had become her secret goal to blow his mind every time she came up with something new. He was not hard data inclined the way she was, or her brother, or her father, yet his interest in what she did despite all that was almost…addictive for her. And through that she found that she in turn enjoyed some things about him; attributes that had once been irritating she now found endearing. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The real irony about Lance was that, while no girl he ever flirted with seemed to genuinely reciprocate, he actually was an attractive young man. He had natural charisma, he was flamboyant and had a </span>
  <em>
    <span>joie di vivre</span>
  </em>
  <span> about him that attracted others, herself included. If he only stopped acting like a fool, she often mused, he really could have a lovely relationship with any girl. While those words she had spoken to him she believed he needed to hear, the horrible reality was that if Lance actually did show Allura his caring, selfless side Pidge was sure she would have fallen for him. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>That was why she treasured their gaming sessions together, during the long night cycle aboard the Castle. It was their own, private </span>
  <em>
    <span>thing.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Their down time had been so few and far in between. In the dark with only the light of the screen, Pidge often found herself completely immersed in the game as well as in her partner. Lance always made the most funny faces while he used the power glove and kept tapping each finger to his thumb because he couldn’t remember which one activated the secret power up. She could’ve told him yet she always thought better of it when her character beat his because of his distraction, giggling all the while.  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was also, here on Earth, the only aspect of their friendship Pidge felt she could salvage. She honestly didn’t think of getting anything for herself when their little group of girls both Altean and human took on the crumbling remains of the Plaht City mall. The bazaar-esque look of the tents was intriguing to her and the wares looked more like those found at the flea markets her mother had sometimes dragged her to before the whole Kerberos fiasco. Mildly interesting, she supposed, but not things she would’ve wanted until a chance encounter walking by a blond man kneeling on his tarp next to boxes of what looked to be vintage video games. And one, in particular, triggered a memory so sharply that she gasped and pulled away from her group.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Killbot Phantasm Revengifiance? This is out!?” she couldn’t believe her good luck! She and Lance had grown bored of the Killbot game they had purchased at the space mall (it was the only Earth game they had ever come across that far out) and often discussed the next installment that had been in production before they left. Lance was thinking that the main hero character would obviously get with the sorceress companion after they had retaken the throne of her lost kingdom while Pidge refuted that, saying that maybe the hero adventurer would give up his life so she could live and become Queen. Lance, then, had promptly told her not to be such a drag and that that idea did not sound fun at all.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>It’s a fantasy adventure RPG, Pidge, they wouldn’t do something so dark like that! Killing off the main character? Before he even gets his happy ending? What a waste of time!</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Well, judging by what Rizavi had said about no one playing to the end, they could finally find out! Her excitement shot up tenfold at the fantasy of the both of them playing the new Killbot in one of their quarters on the</span>
  <em>
    <span> Atlas</span>
  </em>
  <span>. It would be like old times, something diverting to make their daunting final mission not so grave. The elation filling her chest </span>
  <em>
    <span>might </span>
  </em>
  <span>have contributed to her autograph happy shopping spree afterwards, but only a little. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>But with the sweet silver lining to a disappointing last day on Earth came the final sour note that dragged her back down to the ground.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You can have all of this….for Killbot Phantasm: Revengifiance.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Of all things, why did the Unilu want the game?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>The universe really </span>
  </em>
  <span>does</span>
  <em>
    <span> hates me...</span>
  </em>
  
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>None of her friends, least of all Allura, were pressuring her into the trade but Pidge knew better. The despondency in Allura’s voice gave up her true feelings. While she wasn’t sure to what extent Allura’s feelings towards Lance were, Pidge could now tell they were far beyond her initial calculations. It had been no shock to learn of Lance asking the princess to his family’s house for a farewelll meal but it somehow stung that Allura had accepted. Turning away from her friend’s fallen face, Pidge held the game up to her eyes again and studied it for a moment. She would have to make a decision about her own feelings in only a few seconds.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>She doesn’t need the dress, she said it herself. Just keep the game and let her go on that stupid date in her Garrison uniform.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oh, it was tempting. Nadia wasn’t helping the impulse by distantly arguing with the Unilu merchant. Yet Pidge’s hand held out the game and her mouth moved of its own accord.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Fine, you can have it! We don’t have time to play it anyway…” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And for the second time that day, Pidge felt her mind slow to catch up to what she had just done. Allura’s hug and her thankfulness had been a balm (however temporary) to her heart and Pidge tried her best to keep the smile on her face as the group merrily sauntered out of the mall and into the bright daylight of late afternoon, her feelings left behind in the Unilu’s hands.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>~~</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The rest of her day had passed as blase as expected. Her mother had only allowed the shopping trip because Romelle and Allura had insisted, so once she had come back it was out of her new jumpsuit and back into her cadet fatigues, the route to the hydroponics room a blur of grays and blues as her mind whirled with thoughts that half formed before they seemed to disappear into ether. In a sense, Pidge was grateful for Beezer’s presence as she picked up where she left off in cataloguing all the produce and plants that the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Atlas</span>
  </em>
  <span> would have on board for the months-long journey. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Wonderful Beezer. The little robot had instantly remembered their connection and, seeing as he had been uprooted from his own beloved family, fit perfectly snug within the Holts’ way of life. The best part about having a robot for a best friend, Katie thought dimly, was how well they could keep a secret, if one encoded the password for it well enough. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Beezer had met her at the door to the artificial garden wringing his hose-like appendages with a question mark glowing on his screen, as if he feared whatever news she had to bring him. Colleen was not present; she had already finished her half of the cataloguing and was already at home, spending a quiet evening with Sam over wine, baked ziti, and candlelight. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She had, however, left a small note for her daughter: </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Katie-</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Seeing as it’s our last night on Earth, I’ve decided that you should at least have the night off to do what you’d like. Finish cataloguing and feel free to go have fun with your friends, just make sure you’re home by curfew or so help me Shirogane will have to find a new Green Paladin!</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Love, Mom &lt;3</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Pidge rolled her eyes, but the smile tugging her lips up was genuine. Her mother had been through hell without her family, but it comforted the girl to know that she was back to her old self again, nagging and all. The only issue was whether or not she would finish her work in time to get home and grab the leftover ziti before Matt hogged it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Reaching out a hand, Pidge gently patted between the robot’s ears. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It went about as well as you could expect, Bee,” she sighed out. She continued to talk out loud as she tapped her pad. “Found a lot of really neat stuff, though! Made myself an idiot to get it all. And...Allura did get a really nice dress! Can’t believe that shop had anything worth more than the bargain bin, honestly. I know Lance is gonna just </span>
  <em>
    <span>love </span>
  </em>
  <span>her in it, all soft and pink...with long, pretty hair and...tall enough to look him in the eyes, I’m sure….” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Jolting slightly, Pidge continued to check off each box on her document, her lax arm snapping back from its waning as she had spoken. Huffing, she left it at that and refocused on her work. Work had always been a good deterrent to her unwanted emotions. It was probably too late to make any evening plans with any of the other paladins (as far as she was aware, everyone had plans with their families), she figured if she toiled quick enough, there’d still be enough time for a leisurely stroll through the park by moonlight, where no one would bother her. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>~~</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>This sucked. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She really shouldn’t have been surprised. The city park was still in disarray, which she knew firsthand, but the rain showers that had come through the day before meant that certain walkways, illuminated by the street lamps, were flooded. From what she could tell, the gardeners had been out even just that day, planting new specimens of tulips in the flower beds. It was a welcome sight, she thought, to combat the dead bushes and small trees along the way. Truthfully, the juxtaposition felt eerie and strange as she walked along, Beezer helping her hop puddles and storing the various flowers that caught Pidge’s eye. Her mother would appreciate a wider pool to select from for her cross-breeding program.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Well, </span>
  </em>
  <span>she thought as her shoe landed in another patch of unseen mud, </span>
  <em>
    <span>at least Lance and Allura’s dinner date is probably going better than this, they get to stay inside a nice warm house.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As Pidge was forced to make an evasive maneuver to avoid falling face first on the stones, giving a one-two ballet step up to a nearby tree to regain her balance, she heard the distant chatter of people. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh, just perfect! An audience to see me slip into the dirt spectacularly!</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Using the low branches for support, the petite girl hoisted herself up, one foot in the grass and the other on the curb of the pathway. Behind her, Beezer started up some very distressed-sounding chirps and beeps. Pidge craned her neck as far as she could from around the tree, hoping to catch a glimpse of who could possibly be out at this hour. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Haven’t you heard? It’s our last night on Earth,” she muttered under her breath. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust and make out exactly who it was (or who they were, as she could now see two figures distinctly) until one of them walked up to the towering central oak tree in the middle hub of the park, placing their hand upon it and suddenly, the tree was awash in a brilliant blue radiance. It hurt her eyes for a split second and Pidge squeezed her eyes shut tight against it before she opened them again, letting them take in the wondrous sight of a healthy, full tree and she knew exactly who it was. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>What are they doing here!? I thought they were having dinner at his family’s house?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Dancing lights, like fireflies, shimmered around the area, revealing not only the behemoth of a tree restored to new buds and greenery but every other flora in the vicinity, including the tree she was perched up against. With new leaves slapping her face, it took a moment for Pidge to duck her head, eyes completely fixated on Allura and presumably, Lance behind her. Whatever it was she was saying, Pidge suddenly could not help but feel like an intruder of the highest offense; this was clearly private for the two of them. Gazing back down at the path, however, she quickly realized how she could not make a hasty exit without splashing through the rainwater and surely alerting her teammates. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>So, achingly, she stayed put, her heart quickening its pace and squeezed her lungs until she could barely breathe while she watched. Bits and pieces of their conversation floated on the breeze to her, that horrid courier. She wanted nothing to do with this debacle. Hadn’t she suffered enough for one day? What more did the fates want her to endure?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Allura, you are not alone...and you’ll never be alone, if I have anything to say about it. I know this is only our first date but...Allura, </span>
  <em>
    <span>I love you</span>
  </em>
  <span>” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>There it was. As clear as a bell, more so than anything else they said, and it struck Pidge hard in the chest as well as any laser blast from a Galran sentry could. It didn’t stop there. Allura said something indiscernible to Pidge’s ringing ears and Lance closed the distance between them. Unable to watch any longer, she ducked her head back behind the treetrunk and squeezed her eyes shut. </span>
  <em>
    <span>He truly does love her, </span>
  </em>
  <span>that terrible voice concluded. Never in a million years did Pidge actually think that Lance was ever serious with what he thought he felt for Allura, but his voice sounded so sincere and aching. As if it was hurting him to confess for fear of what she would say. With Allura’s hand over his heart, his body language alone was enough to shift her thinking. </span>
  <em>
    <span>She makes him happy...</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was and had never been that Pidge found herself jealous of Allura or resentful that she seemed to garner the only attention that was unwanted to her but wholly coveted (she could admit that now) by Pidge. Maybe at one point, in the darkest, most selfish part of her mind, she had believed that she deserved to be seen and appreciated as more than just a brain or your everyday support-class because she felt she had </span>
  <em>
    <span>earned </span>
  </em>
  <span>that right. To be looked at as more than only a friend, just because she deserved some good karma in her life for all her trouble and contributions made for the greater good.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Things were different now, she could see. Pidge knew she had to be happy with having her family back and leaving it at that. In a strange way, she felt like it would be almost selfish to hope for more. Besides, Allura needed the care and attention now, especially after that horrid business with leaving Lotor in the quintessence field, and she wanted to help as best she could. She knew she wasn’t stylish or appreciated those feminine things but as long as it made the princess happy, in whatever capacity, she’d do it. For both their happiness, it seemed. It was then, upon sneaking a peek at Lance lean in for a sweet kiss under the glittering embers of the fading magic that Pidge, with a strength she wasn’t sure she had, whispered into Beezer’s ear a set of directions.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>If robots could ever serve looks, hers certainly gave her a “are you sure?” stare with its one luminous LED eye before giving a salute and speeding away towards the embracing couple. Beezer was a wonderful actor, as per her instructions: stooping down to examine a flower as if he didn’t see them and then using his awkward bottom “feet” to step over to them, like he caught sight of how adorable they looked together, insistent on a photo. Looking on, Pidge watched with the breath feeling cold in her chest as the little robot took a quick picture of them and puttered away, back towards her hiding place. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“G-Good job, Bee,” she whispered to him. Beezer was silent but he did nuzzle his frame up against her leg. In return, she gave a small sad smile to him and patted his head, hand trembling ever so minutely. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Pidge waited an exuberant amount of time for Lance and Allura to leave the park before heading home herself. She wanted to make sure they never suspected she was there, spying on their romantic moment. Let them think Beezer was out by himself, collecting samples. By the time she left, the street lamps had been doused (the city was still under a power allowance) and the moon’s dreamy glow had peeked out from behind a roaming cloud. The small creek that she walked beside already had a bank of fog over it, playing tricks on her eyes as she went along. Yes, that must’ve been it, must’ve accounted for the burning right behind them that wouldn’t go away.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Speeding up, Pidge felt an incredibly powerful need all at once to release a bit of her energy, challenging Beezer’s pace beside her as a means of distraction. There wouldn’t be any time tomorrow to dwell on anything personal, nor the day after that or after that. If she could only get home and retreat to her room for the night, she lied to herself that all this would be forgotten. No one would ever know, and she found that she liked it that way. She needed to double check that everything had been packed, anyways.  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Upon entering her house, Pidge was met with dark rooms and utter silence. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Good, clearly Mom and Dad’s night went better than mine. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Once in her room, the small girl combed over her bag one last time, she pondered briefly over removing the Mercury Gameflux but then thought better of it. She still had plenty of games (a lie; she only had the one old scratched up disc of </span>
  <em>
    <span>Killbot</span>
  </em>
  <span>) and even if Lance wouldn’t have time to play with her (more like he wouldn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>want </span>
  </em>
  <span>to play with her when he could be spending all his off time with-), Pidge was sure Hunk or maybe Keith or even one of the MFE pilots would surely be interested. Heck, even with how busy Shiro was as captain, she was confident he’d at least play one round with her if she shot him her best pleading puppy dog eyes.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Slipping the case back into her bag, Pidge quickly changed into her pajamas and tucked herself into bed, all manner of coding forgotten as the swirling thoughts eventually faded into the black hole of slumber.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tomorrow was Launch Day and there would be plenty of things that required her attention, the perfect distraction for heartbreak.    </span>
  <em>
    
  </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So.......this is a thing that has been sitting in my Drive for about a year and I'm only now throwing it up for anyone to enjoy. I needed catharsis, what can I say XD <br/>This will be a series of vignette scenes from s8 highlighting Pidge and her feelings for Lance as they would've happened in ogs8 canon, as highlighted by LeakingHate's s8 meta, which you can read <a href="https://www.teampurplelion.com/seek-truth-in-darkness/">here</a></p>
<p>Main inspiration song for this was the ever-angst-festing the Smiths and this song specifically <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6o1SEj02t0">I Know It's Over</a></p>
<p>Big Thanks to Rueitae for beta-ing and suggesting things! I very much appreciate her!</p>
<p>And thank you for reading! Please send a comment, if you're so inclined, or send some kudos, I enjoy and appreciate them! Ta-ta for now!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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